I Was Yours Since the Beginning
by iLOVEsmellymarkers
Summary: Between running a flower shop and tending to her customers, Annabeth doesn't have much time for a love life. But she still can't help but feel a little lonely when she sees Percy, her best friend and her secret love, bring a new girl around every other day. Can she change his ways? AU One-shot. Credit goes to my friend Spritzy for the idea and writing most of it. Rights go to Rick


**Hey everybody! So this is a story I wrote with my friend. She goes by Spritzy for those of you wondering. She came up with the idea and we wrote it together. I hope you guys like it! It's her first posted fic and this means a lot to her. She doesn't have her account so we're collaborating and posting it on my account. Please tell me if you like it! And about The Student Teacher, don't worry I'll post as soon as I'm done with the chapter. I'm just going through a bit of a rut. But I'll post as soon as I can! Once again, Rick Riordan owns all PJO characters and this story is ultimately owned by Spritzy, I just helped her write it is all. Enjoy!**

Annabeth drummed her fingers on the checkout counter of her flower shop, trying to do some mental math to figure out her profits for the month. After a fifth failed attempt, she pulled out a piece of paper and her calculator, doing it the old fashioned way. She had just finished adding up her expenses when the bell above her door chimed, signaling the arrival of her first customer.

He had made his way towards her before she could even shut her notebook and get up. Etching a smile onto her face, she looked up and her eyes immediately flickered to the mop of hair clinging to the man's head, unruly and windblown. Her eyes glided down and she noted the bright, piercing blue-green eyes that peered back at her, and lastly she took in the two cups of coffee grasped carelessly in the man's hands.

"Oh," she said, her smile disappearing, only to be replaced by a look of irritation. "It's just you."

"_Just _me?" Percy scoffed, holding her coffee out of her reach and opening his lips into a fake mask of astonishment. "And I thought I meant something to you, Annabeth."

"Percy," she whined, pouting and holding out her hand.

"Just playing with you," he said with a wink, finally setting the drink on the counter.

Annabeth lunged for the styrofoam cup and took a grateful sip of her coffee, then frowned.

"It's cold," she mentioned.

"Oh, my bad," Percy muttered as he leaped over the counter to sit next to her.

"How's... What's her name again?" Annabeth asked, standing up and snatching a watering can off the shelf.

"Tia," Percy sighed. "Wait... I think it's Tina. Um actually-"

"I thought you were going out with Beatrice?" Annabeth interrupted, moving to an array of plants while Percy followed.

"Oh, um..."

"That's a shame," Annabeth muttered, mostly to herself. "I actually liked her."

"There's a first." So Percy had heard her.

In a stunning case of irony, Annabeth was literally 'saved by the bell' as a customer walked through the entrance while she tried to come up with a snarky, witty, and totally Annabeth-y retort.

Annabeth thoughtfully watched Percy as he frowned at his ringing phone. She wondered what had happened to the little boy who had been scared to stay at summer camp so many years ago.

The truth was, she had harbored feelings for Percy since they had met at twelve. Growing up, she had thought, or rather hoped, that they would end up together no matter what. That he would always be _her _Percy, and she would always be _his _Annabeth. In a way, they still were. But now, Percy always had a girl (or two) clinging onto his arm. He still had time for Annabeth, and they were still as close as they had been before, but a small part of Annabeth still wanted Percy to herself. All to herself.

"I'd better go," Percy mouthed to Annabeth. He was on the phone with Tia/Tina, and the conversation didn't look to have a happy ending. For the girl, that is. In a matter of hours Percy would easily find a rebound for the rebound of the rebound.

Annabeth managed a smile and a wave before returning to her customer.

"Hi, welcome to Persephone's Garden. How can I help you?" she cordially asked the man. His clothing and age suggested him to be a college boy, perhaps going to school nearby. He wore a sweater vest and slacks complete with a pair of glasses and a leather book bag. "How can I help you?"

"Uh, today... Um... well, I need..." He couldn't seem to find the proper words.

"Are you okay sir-sorry, I didn't catch your name-"

"Nicholas. You can call me Nicholas."

Annabeth hoped she wasn't the reason he was biting his lip raw with anxiety.

"Well Nicholas, why don't you tell me what's going on?" Annabeth asked, leading him to the counter. She perched on her stool and set her gaze on him, letting her mind wander to other things. In other words, she was daydreaming about Percy.

"Your eyes," Nicholas said randomly.

Annabeth snapped into the present. "Yes?" She asked, a bit annoyed. She had actually been in the middle of a very nice daydream involving a situation in which she had been forced to stay at Percy's apartment for the night due to a dangerous storm. They were about to-

"They're grey," Nicholas stated.

"Huh?" Annabeth probably looked very confused, because Nicholas sighed and repeated himself.

"You're eyes are grey," he said. "I've never seen grey eyes."

"Well now you have," Annabeth muttered.

Nicholas seemed to think that Annabeth didn't want him there.

"Anyway," he said seriously, "Today's my mom's birthday and I need flowers for her."

Annabeth stood up and walked around the counter. "Are you looking for a fancy bouquet, or a simple dozen of-"

"That's it," Nicholas said quickly, pointing to an elaborate arrangement of bright flowers in the middle of the store. He ran over to it and picked it up, hurrying to the checkout counter and pulling out his wallet.

"Looks like someone's in a hurry to leave," Annabeth noticed, grabbing the cash Nicholas handed her. "Got a hot date or something?"

She had meant it as a friendly joke or something, but Nicholas' reaction was definitely unexpected. He blushed beet red, all the way up to his neat blonde hair. Sputtering a thanks, he grabbed his flowers and left.

Annabeth stared after him, thinking _What the hell..? _when she realized he had left his wallet in the store. The poor guy must have been really nervous. Annabeth could clearly imagine Percy's face, laughing at Nicholas' odd behavior. Opening Nicholas' wallet, she found a phone number after searching through it.

Nicholas agreed to meet her the next morning at the coffee store two blocks away the next morning before Annabeth opened up for the day.

Deciding to walk the two blocks to the coffee shop instead of drive was probably the stupidest decision Annabeth had made that week. By the time she arrived she was late and had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. She barrelled into the quaint shop, knocking someone over in the process.

"Sorry," she yelled breathlessly over her shoulder as she joined Nicholas at a table.

"Hi," he said, giving her a strange look. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, attempting and failing to inconspicuously clutch at a stabbing pain in her side.

"I'll get you some water," he muttered, leaving her to drop into a chair, exhausted.

"Annabeth?" she heard someone say behind her.

She turned around to find Percy staring at her, holding two cups of coffee in his hands.

"Why are you here?" They both said at the same time.

Percy cracked a smile while Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"_I _am being the amazing best friend that I am and buying you your favorite coffee," he said, plopping down into Nicholas' vacant seat.

Annabeth chugged half the drink down before her mind registered that the coffee was indeed freshly brewed and about the same temperature as molten lava.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, grabbing desperately at her throat. "It's hot!"

"It's called _coffee,_" Percy explained, patting her shoulder with a patronizing tone. "It's supposed to be hot."

"But it burned me, Percy!" Annabeth complained, scowling at him.

"First, you complain that it's too cold. Now, you say it's too hot. I never seem to be able to please you."

Ouch. He sounded serious.

"Percy-" Annabeth began.

"Who is he?" Percy said suddenly, nodding towards Nicholas, who was standing in line for a drink of his own.

"Oh, just this guy," Annabeth said, removing the lid of her cup to allow her steaming beverage to cool off.

"He seems... friendly."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Is someone jealous?"

Percy snorted and shook his head, but Annabeth didn't miss the red undertones creeping up his cheeks.

Percy was cute when he blushed, she decided.

"Really?" Percy asked.

_Shit. _Had she said that out loud?

"Does someone have a crush on me?" Percy asked, smirking at her.

_God, he was so sexy when he did that._

Thankfully, she hadn't let those words escape her mouth. She would have never forgiven herself for that.

Just as she opened her mouth to reply, Nicholas was back holding two drinks and two slices of pumpkin bread in his hands, staring dangerously at Percy. The issue magnified when Annabeth found that Percy was staring daggers at Nicholas as well.

"Who are _you?_" They asked each other simultaneously. Then they both looked at Annabeth expectantly, clearly awaiting answers.

"Nicholas," she began slowly. "This is Percy, my-"

"Boyfriend." Percy interjected.

Annabeth thought she stopped breathing. She looked over at Percy, wordlessly asking him what the hell he was up to.

Percy looked apologetic. _Trust me, _his eyes seemed to whisper. _Trust me. I love you. You are so amazi- _oh wait, that's what her brain was whispering, not him.

In reality, Annabeth could see him trying to mask the jealousy in his eyes.

Annabeth should have felt lucky. She should have been glad she had the chance to pretend to be Percy Jackson's girlfriend. After all, he only gave that chance to half a million other girls.

He had no right to be jealous when _she _was the one who had liked him from the beginning. _She _wasn't the one hooking up with a new person every other night. And she definitely wouldn't be the one to play along now.

Percy could probably sense that Annabeth wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but he was determined not to let that slimebag win.

"Here, you can have this seat," he offered it to Nicholas. "I'll pull my own chair up." He stood up and looked around, finding no available seats in the busy coffee shop while Nicholas settled into his previous one. Suddenly, Annabeth found herself lifting off her chair, only to find herself sitting in Percy's _lap_, as he had taken her own chair and just expected to share.

"Chill, babe," Percy whispered in her ear, giving her unwelcome shivers.

Annabeth sent Percy the deadliest glare she could muster, but he just smiled and ran his hand up and down her thigh, in full view of Nicholas's wandering eyes. It was when Percy's other hand traveled its way under her shirt to the bottom of her stomach that Annabeth decided to put an end to all this foolishness.

"I have to go open my shop now," she muttered, scrambling off Percy's lap and grabbing her purse.

"Here," she shoved Nicholas' wallet into his bewildered face and made to leave, only to be stopped by Percy's hand snaking its way around her wrist.

"What?" He asked, sounding very disappointed and even more convincing. "No goodbye kiss?"

He stood up, wrapped an arm around Annabeth's waist, and rested the other in her blond princess curls.

Annabeth's heart beat quickened. What was Percy playing at? Yes, she had wanted this almost her whole life; but a real kiss, not a fake one for some young college prep kid who didn't realize that older women were far too out of his reach. In her attempt to save face, she allowed Percy to press his lips to hers, but didn't let it last for more than a second or two as she pulled away with an "I really have to go" and a slight wave at Nicholas. It wasn't until she was out the door, the taste of the salty sea burning on her lips that she realized.

_I just kissed Percy Jackson. Percy freaking Jackson. Percy I'm such a sex god Jackson. __**Percy Jackson!**_

She had to refrain from skipping past the local bakery. _Aw, what the hell_ she decided. She skipped all the way down the street, across the crosswalk, and into Persephone's Garden, smiling like a love struck idiot the whole way. Of course, that's exactly what she was.

Annabeth had just pulled out her disgusting homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch when her phone rang.

It was Percy.

She didn't pick up.

About five minutes later, Percy himself burst through the door that read _Out for lunch from 12-1 pm._

"Can you not read?" Annabeth snapped, avoiding eye contact.

"That's not important," Percy said as he grabbed Annabeth's purse, keys, and arm, dragging an involuntary Annabeth into his car.

Percy could practically feel the anger dripping off Annabeth, yet decided that he would rather have Annabeth yell at him than ignore him.

"I dumped Tina," he mentioned.

No response.

"I hope you like pizza, because that's what we're having."

Annabeth continued ignoring him.

"Dammit, Annabeth! What do you want me to say?" he exploded, pounding his fist on the wheel. "That I'm sorry? Because I'm not!"

"I could've handled it myself," she said coldly. "You could've just gone and waited for me at the store."

Percy winced. Her tone was not encouraging. "Oh come on, you know you had fun. I mean, the look on that guy's face! Priceless." He grinned at her.

"_That guy_ has a name," she retorted, an idea forming in her mind already. "And have you even _considered _the thought that I might have wanted him jealous?"

Percy's joking demeanor dropped like a rock thrown off the Empire State Building.

"But you didn't," Percy whispered, his eyes narrowing as he searched her face for any indication that she had been lying. He must have seen her wavering sense of morality in her eyes, because he relaxed and leaned back into his seat.

"Okay_ fine_, I didn't, but what about when I find a guy that I really like, are you going to drive him away too?" She asked, glaring daggers at the hand that rested casually on her knee until it moved away. "I don't say anything when you hook up with random women- if you could even call them women- every night, so why are you bothering me so much about this?"

Percy was silent. But this wasn't one of those times when she didn't mind not getting an answer. She wanted one. She _needed _one.

"Percy."

"What?"

She glared at him, but Percy fixed his eyes on the road and left them there.

"Where are we going, anyways?" She asked, taking in her surroundings. She decided on forcing the answer out of him later.

"Pizza."

Annabeth growled. "Yeah, I got that. But where?"

"That place you went to for your birthday your junior year. You loved it," he said, making a right turn and stopping the car in front of an Italian cafe.

Annabeth smiled. He had remembered that?

"Why are you smiling?" Percy asked, holding the restaurant door open for her and following her inside.

Annabeth quickly wiped it off her face and stared at him. "I'm not."

He grinned at her knowingly before turning to the hostess and exchanging his kind hearted grin for a small, sexy smirk as he took in her long legs, high heels, and curvaceous figure. The hostess smiled, winking at Percy before turning around and leading them into the most crowded and least seclusive area of the restaurant, swaying her hips from side to side like a pendulum in a manner that Annabeth assumed drew men by the thousands.

Annabeth felt like she would be getting wrinkles ten years earlier than she should be due to the amount of scowling she had done that day. And she hadn't even finished lunch yet.

The hostess walked away, glancing back at Percy and running her hand seductively up her side. As the two continued to make bedroom eyes at each other from across the restaurant, their waiter arrived. He was tall, with brown hair curled across his forehead, amber eyes the color of tree sap, and a breathtaking smile with a slightly crooked bottom tooth. His eyes found Annabeth's immediately, not bothering to check out her figure or her clothes. Annabeth liked that; it was... refreshing to be noticed for the person instead of the body. Next, his eyes flickered to Percy, and followed his gaze to the hostess nearly feeling herself up near the entrance of the restaurant. He looked at Annabeth again, confusion clouding his eyes. She let her lips slant into a sad smile, and shrugged slightly.

"Hi," he said cautiously, looking over at Percy once again before deciding to focus his full attention onto the only one looking at him at all. "Welcome to [insert name here]. I'm Mark, I'll be your waiter today. Can I start you off with a drink...?" He trailed off, not knowing what Annabeth's name was.

"Hi! I'm Annabeth and he," she pointed at the guy drooling his head off next to her, "is Percy, my _friend_." Annabeth wasn't quite sure why that last part had tagged along, but seeing the graceful smile dance across Mark's lips was totally worth it.

"I figured, from the way he's looking at Brittney over there, that you two weren't a couple. So what would you like to drink?"

"I'll take a strawberry limonata and Percy- by any chance do you have blue food coloring?" His eyes opened wide with bewilderment, and Annabeth couldn't help but grin cheerfully. "Sorry, he's weird like that. If you do, can you put that in a Cherry Coke?"

"No problem," Mark said, smiling at her. "I'll be right back."

Annabeth smiled dotingly after him, and he turned and gave her a boyishly charming wink that reminded her of happy times with her father, sitting out on the lake and looking onto the forest beyond, before he headed into the kitchen.

Not a moment later, Percy swung his head back over to Annabeth's side of the table. Brittney, for the moment, had to go lead a family of three to a booth in the back. She would be back soon, and Annabeth only had so much time before Percy's attention was gone again.

"Hey, where's the waiter?" Percy asked.

So _now _he notices.

"Mark went to go get our drinks," she mentioned, smiling slightly when she said his name. "I ordered a blue Cherry Coke for you, by the way. It was so sweet how he didn't even ask any questions about the whole 'blue' thing, like he accepted us for who we are." Annabeth sighed, she could only hope for a guy like that one day, since her chances with Percy were being overrun with Brittneys and Tinas and Beatrices and other one nighters.

"Or he just wanted a bigger tip," Percy muttered. Annabeth smiled slightly at Percy's childish demeanor, having it only to be replaced with a full out grin when Mark returned with the drinks.

Mark glanced quickly at Percy before returning Annabeth's smile, his eyes shining. "Here you guys go." He placed their drinks on the table, winking at Annabeth in a _no problem_ kind of way when she thanked him graciously. Percy picked up on it and set his lips into a thin frown.

"Are we ready to order?" Mark asked, clearly sensing the tension building a brick wall between Percy and Annabeth. Or Percy and himself, to be accurate

"I'll have a-" Annabeth was cut off by Percy. For the first time in his life, he had the strange urge to _share_, even if only to make this waiter guy jealous.

"We'll take a large cheese pizza with olives please," Percy says, adding on Annabeth's favorite food to the top. He smiled sweetly up at Mark. "Annabeth and I have the same food tastes because we are so _close_ to each other. No one," insert a glare here, "can break us apart."

Mark smiled slightly and asked innocently "Not even Brittney?"

Percy scowled "Who's Brittney?"

"Never mind," Mark replied, shaking his head and muttering "unbelievable" under his breath.

Annabeth stared at him. Percy _hated _olives. He despised them. Come to think of it... He never really liked pizza that much either.

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth began. "You ha-"

"No need to thank me babe," Percy interrupted her, laying his hand on her own until she subtly inched it away. "People like us, who have been best friends since we were _twelve_," he glanced at Mark, "don't need words to express gratitude. We know." His voice dropped to a loud whisper as he patted his chest. "In here."

"Bull. Shit." Annabeth muttered, just so that she and Percy could hear.

Percy looked hurt. It didn't seem like he was joking as he pulled his hand away from hers.

"Is that all?" Mark asked, looking anxious to leave their table.

"Yeah that's it. Thanks Mark!" Annabeth nodded, narrowing her eyes at Percy as Mark left rather quickly. Percy stared Annabeth down.

"You like him."

"So what if I do?"

"You have to stay away from him, have you seen the way he looks at you?" Annabeth growled in frustration.

"How exactly does he look at me Percy? Like someone who cares? Because that's what I saw!"

"No, he looked at you like you were a piece of meat!"

"Oh, like the way you looked at Brittney?" Annabeth asked.

"Who the hell is this Brittney girl?" Percy cried, slamming his fist down on the table and causing a family nearby to jump. Annabeth huffed in annoyance.

"The hostess, Seaweed Brain. You know, the one basically feeling herself up for you on the counter over there?" Realization flitted across Percy eyes and he slumped back in his chair, not embarrassed, exactly, but feeling guilty for getting caught in the act.

With impeccable timing, Mark arrived, carrying what was apparently Percy's new favorite pizza. They ate in silence, looking up to fling glares and accusations in each others faces every once in awhile.

Later, Mark arrived with a slice of cheesecake and two forks.

"Compliments of the chef for the lovely lady." he set it down with a wink and strolled back over to the kitchen, a blush slowly creeping up Annabeth's cheeks. To say the least, Percy was not happy at all. But he still managed to get over his anger and eat over half of the cheesecake that Annabeth had claimed for herself.

"Goodbye! Have a great day!" Mark called after the two as he picked up their check.

"We will, thanks!" Annabeth replied, smiling back at him.

"Come back soon!"

Annabeth laughed. "Oh, definitely!"

There was a sticky silence the whole ride back to Annabeth's shop. When they arrived, Annabeth left without saying a word. Percy sat in his idle car, watching as Annabeth unlocked the door and went to sit down at the counter, smiling into space.

He frowned. What was so great about Mark anyways?

Percy pondered that question the rest of the day, deciding to just be straightforward and ask Annabeth about it the next morning when he dropped off her coffee.

The next day, Percy arrived at Persephone's Garden only to find the door locked and the store empty. He frowned.

_Annabeth should be up and running by now, _he thought, tapping on a window and peering into the shop. Just at that moment, Percy heard someone laughing. It was Annabeth.

She was walking down the street, a cup of coffee already in her hand. And Mark was walking right next to her.

Percy felt a stab of jealousy overtake him.

He glared at both of them as he watched them walk into Annabeth's shop, laughing.

"So what did I do to earn coffee and a walk with you this fine morning?" Annabeth asked Mark, still smiling.

"Well," he said, wringing his hands. "I knew you owned a flower shop and I needed some help. See, I'm proposing to my girlfriend tonight, and I was wondering..."

His voice faded as Annabeth's vision tunneled. Mark had a girlfriend. The coffee had just been a token of friendship, nothing more. She and Mark would never be more than friends. It was like her and Percy all over again. Mark had a girlfriend. Percy had several. Even Brittney managed to find a guy to spend the night with. Annabeth was by herself, alone in the world, with no one to hold her and rely on her and whose ultimate goal was to keep her happy and safe. It was just Annabeth versus the World, and the World was winning.

"Annabeth?" Mark waved his hand in front of her face, looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said quickly. "Just thinking of ideas for your girlfriends bouquet."

Mark smiled. "She likes tulips," he mentioned. "Yellow tulips."

Annabeth found herself walking to a beautiful arrangement of fresh tulips that had been handpicked and wrapped by her own hands just yesterday. They were glorious, each yellow petal strong and substantial, a stark comparison to Annabeth's state of mind. These tulips represented the life Annabeth could never have. There would never be a man on her doorstep, flowers in hand, begging for a kiss. There would never be a bouquet in her hands, ready to be thrown into the awaiting crowd of bridesmaids. These fantasies would never come true, for the one person she had hoped to share these dreams with could never love her. Percy, the keeper of her heart, always picked someone else, shifting gears so quickly it was difficult to keep with the pace. That man would never be hers. She looked down at the tulips again, and realized that she hated them. She hated them with a fire so hot the tulips seemed to burn just from her touch.

"Here," she shoved them at Mark and remembered the way she had shoved Nicholas' wallet at him the day before. It seemed like forever ago that Percy had pretended to be her boyfriend, that Percy had gotten jealous and kissed her in the middle of that coffee shop.

"Keep the change," she heard Mark saying as he passed thirty dollars her way. "Thank you, Annabeth," Mark said happily as he walked out the door and out of Annabeth's life as well.

She slid onto her stool, staring at the spot where Mark had disappeared. She didn't notice the bell above the door ringing or the man walking up to her until he handed her a cup of coffee.

Wordlessly, she took a sip.

"It's cold." Her words sounded hollow. Lifeless.

"Hey," Percy said softly, holding Annabeth's face in his hands. "What'd he do?"

"Nothing," Annabeth whispered, tears threatening to give her away. "He did absolutely nothing."

"Annabeth."

Annabeth pulled away from Percy and lay her head down on the counter, finally letting the tears fall. Too late, she realized she was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. Somehow, she ended up in Percy's arms.

"Sorry," she muttered, leaning back and looking at him. "I'm a mess. I didn't mean to-"

Percy stopped her. "It's okay, Annabeth. I understand."

"No," Annabeth was angry now. Angry at Mark for letting her fall for him like that; angry at Percy for being so overprotective and annoying; and angry at herself for opening up to the world just so she could get played like that. She was sick of people using her. She was done.

"You don't understand _anything. _How could you? You hook up with a new girl every damn night, and you don't even give a fuck about how she feels once you dump her. Do you even know what it's like to feel used and unappreciated? And how dare you act like you care about me when _I'm _the one who's been waiting for you all this time! I've had to sit here and watch while you go around breaking girls' hearts- most of all, my own! I loved you Percy! I still do! But everytime I see you with a new girl I just can't help but wonder if its better this way! Maybe I was just meant to be alone!"

Percy stared at her, incredulous.

"You love me?" he asked, his voice not rising above a whisper.

Annabeth hated herself for giving her heart away like that. But she nodded as a fresh round of tears made their way to her eyes. Before she could say another word, a dark pressure settled over her lips, sweet and desperate, as if the worth of the world could be conveyed through a pair of salty, soft, breathtaking lips. When Percy broke away from her, something inside her clicked; a gear shifted into place, a nail finally got hammered in, old batteries had been replaced with new, strong, indispensable ones. Her heart, ripped and shredded into pieces, was whole again. It shouldn't be possible. All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. But somehow, Percy could. He was the only one that could fix her, and somehow, he did.

Trembling, Percy took a deep breath and said, "You... never showed that you liked me and I just thought- I just thought that you didn't think I was good enough. That first girl you met, what was her name? Lauren? she was to make you jealous. I- I hoped you would realize that you liked me when you saw me with her, but you were so nice! You weren't rude at all and I figured she wasn't going to make you crack. So I- I dumped her, and went out with someone else. A-after awhile, it became a game. I couldn't stop. And I wanted to, so so bad. But then I saw you with Mark a-and I gave up. You seemed so happy and I felt left behind and abandoned. I'm sorry."

Annabeth's mouth dropped open. "You... you did that to make _me _jealous?"

Percy nodded sheepishly.

Annabeth shook her head in disbelief, leaning into Percy. "I was yours from the beginning, Percy," she whispered against his lips.

She could feel his smile against her mouth and it sent fire through her bones. She was alive again, she was awake, she was a dead shell of a human no longer. As she felt the tingle of a whole new kind of heat make its way up her toes, she let a small, but incredibly delighted smile grace her lips before leaning up onto the balls of her feet and pressing a sweet kiss onto Percy's cheek before saying with a coy grin, "Come on. We have a shop to run."

**Here it is you guys! I hoped you like it! Well you've already read so much of this story, typing a word or two wouldn't hurt, right? Just a "good job" "this is great" "eh" "could use some work" helps a ton! Thanks so much everybody!**


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